Inexpensive Homeschool Resources Lesson 99

Cleverly Changing Podcast

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

Speaker1: [00:00:09] Elle and Miriam are two Black homeschooling moms embarking on a self-defining journey. Listen in on conversations that will encourage you to be your authentic self while uplifting your spirit and motivating your inherent potential. They're defining what culture is for their families and want you to do the same. Bring your children along too, so they can meet the cleverly cultured kids. They're all for teaching the babies while they're young, adapting to the challenges of parenting, homeschooling, and being willing to learn the lessons that the children have to offer. It's all about uplifting one another and reclaiming your innate greatness.

Speaker2: [00:01:10] Hello. Hello. Hello. Welcome back to another episode of the cleverly changing podcast. I am one of your co-hosts, Miriam. I am an urban farmer, a homeschooling mom of four. And an all-around creative genius. Okay. I don't know about genius, but that's okay. I'm going to do my best to try to stay focused. Elle usually keeps me on track. And now today, it's my job to keep myself on track. Let's see how this goes. Today I'm going to take you all on a short hop, skip and a jump through using free resources. Every homeschooler loves a good free resource. I mean, anything from YouTube to worksheets to things that are outside the house. Museums and things. Why? Because they're free. And who doesn't appreciate free?

Speaker2: [00:02:31] Now, let’s go ahead and think about how we can best utilize things that are free. Now, it’s very, very, very important to understand that we get what you pay for.

Speaker2: [00:02:52] Or don't pay for.

Speaker2: [00:02:55] In some instances. So, when we're thinking about what resources that we want to use that are free. It would be in our best interest to see how that free resource would fit into our plan, whether it's a lesson plan, whether it's a broad plan for learning something, or even if it's supposed to be something. Just fun. Right? There's a way to weave it into what we're doing. And just because it's free doesn't mean it's going to be good. And just because it's free doesn't mean it's going to be helpful. So we have to think about these. Types of things when we're making use of the freebies. Now, I know that when I first started, I was like, I'm going to use everything free. I'm not paying for anything. I mean, it's possible it's doable, but you kind of miss out on certain things. So like around here in the Maryland, DC, Virginia areas, there are lots of things to do. There are lots of free things to do. But there are also discounted things to do too. Don't forget about the discounted things, folks. I know we're talking about free resources, but I just wanted to throw that in there. You know, a $15 homeschool day at the Baltimore Aquarium, that's a great deal. Let's not skip out on that. Well, I mean, you know, you don't want to skip out on some things that don’t fall under the overarching theme of I'm going to homeschool for free guys, so, you know, do what you want to do. Do what works for you and your family.

Speaker2: [00:04:58] Do what feels comfortable, what feels good, and what's going to further your educational goals for your family. That's the most important thing here. So let's get back to Free 99. See what I'm saying when I say I tend to go off a little bit. I'm trying, I'm trying. I'm trying to follow my notes, but that's no fun. Okay, so where are we with our free resources? I know we've talked about some of these before, but for those who are new who have not listened to Elle and I before, or who haven't gotten back to some of those previous episodes where we discussed things that you can utilize for free, I want to take you back. I'm also going to give you some newbies. I hope that newbies, maybe you've heard of them before, I don't know, but I'm going to share them to remind you or to put you on any hook. So let's talk about things that are outside the house first. Museums. Now, not every museum is free, but tons of them are. And even some of the ones that were not free are now offering free virtual visits. And that's great. That's one of the I guess I'll say cool things about the pandemic, right? A lot of things. A lot of entities, a lot of places, organizations, what have you. They've made this shift to being available virtually so you can peruse some of these museum collections online in the comfort of your home and the comfort of your car wherever, and see all of the cool things you can still get the little blurb that goes with it about whatever the piece is, who created it, how it got to be in the museum, all that kind of stuff.

Speaker2: [00:07:19] So museums are, you know, easily one of the coolest. I'm a nerd—one of the coolest freebies you can find. The Smithsonian, I believe, has a free virtual learning center. I believe it's called Smithsonian Learning Center. You can check that out. And you can find a large range of topics from history to art too, you know, the Smithsonian. They got it all. You could also check with your National Park Service. So in addition to the national parks, you've got your regional parks. And within regional parks, there's often a lot more than one would think would be available. You can find wildlife preserves, nature refuges, and nature refuges. You can find themed playgrounds. You can find fishing opportunities. There's lots of things in the parks. Botanical gardens. And a lot of times, they're free or very, very minimally priced. There's a place in Maryland. It's called Brookside Gardens. My parents used to take me there all the time when I was a kid, and it was so much fun. So many flowers, so many open spaces, so many trees, so many shrubs. It's nice. And I don't think Brookside Garden charges. So you could find loads of places like these around the country, wherever you are, that have these sorts of offerings.

Speaker2: [00:09:44] Now, the other suggestion that is no way. Last place, ask around. There are tons of hidden gems right under your nose. Ask around. What are you all do for fun? Where have you been that you thought was really interesting? You know, you could post these kinds of questions on your social media feed for your friends and family, and you'd be surprised at some of the responses, things you didn't even know existed. So don't be afraid to leverage your own personal network to find out what kinds of things are going on, where you can go, what you can do—the newspapers, you know, those little stands that are near the exit of your grocery store. There you go. They're free. Pick them up, and flip through those pages. You'll probably find a couple of events that are going on in your area that you can get to that are free, low cost, and full cost. But you're going to find some things that you and your family just might be interested in. Let's see. Oh, volunteer work. Not only is it a good chance for you to help out and learn things, but it's also a great free resource. It's free. Nobody charges you to volunteer. They're charging you your time. I guess. There are so many places that accept volunteers, like an urban farm. Farms need volunteers. There are tons of places you'll find animal rights groups, like pet shelters and things like that. You’ll also find other environmental groups like taking care of watersheds and rivers to volunteer at.

Speaker2: [00:12:06] Frankly, you can volunteer everywhere in churches and schools. There's a lot of volunteer work around soup kitchens. I'm trying to think of one that's a little maybe off the beaten path but that's plenty of things that...